Layston C of E First School Assessment Presentation and Marking - - PDF document

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

Layston C of E First School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy

Reviewed Nov 2016update Sept 2017

& Feb 2018

Review due Nov 2018

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

Policy Review This policy will be reviewed in full by the Governing Body bi-annually. The policy was last reviewed and agreed by the Governing Body on 14.11.16. It is due for review in Autumn Term 2018 (up to 2 years from the above date) by the Governing Body. Signature ……M Bloomfield……………………… Date …14.11.16.………………… Head Teacher Signature …C. Tallis…………………….………. Date ….14.11.16.………………… Chair of Governors

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

Policy Statement At Layston First School we believe it is important to instil a sense of pride in the children, which in turn should be reflected in the presentation of their

• work. We believe that by setting the children high expectations it will

encourage them to work towards self-improvement and reach their potential in standards of achievement. At Layston First School we also believe that all children’s work should be marked to inform children of their achievements as well as providing them with targets to facilitate their future progress. We aim to;  Always make children aware of the focus aspect of each piece of work, ensuring that marking comments and feedback relate to this focus, which will be derived from the key objectives of the lesson.  Set high standards of expectation from the children in the presentation

• f their work.

 Instil in the children a sense of pride in their work by making explicit, acceptable standards of presentation in their work.  Help children to realise that presentation is not more important than the content of their work, but that it is an important aspect of their work.  Offer the children through both oral and written comments, a caring, supportive atmosphere within which they can be guided to improving their presentation and reach their full potential.  Provide children with constructive written feedback through the marking

• f their work

 Set individual targets in relation to each child’s ability.  Embed the principles of Assessment for Learning throughout the curriculum to inform teaching and learning.. In order to have progression and continuity in the presentation of work it is essential there is a mutually developed policy. Therefore the following guidelines have been compiled in order to support the children in the presentation of their work at our school.

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

General guidelines  Teachers should write pupils’ names and subject title on the book cover

• r stick on a label

 Doodling is not permitted in or on exercise books  Pupils should be discouraged from writing with a blunt pencil  All books to have covers Guidelines for presentation of children’s work . Page Layout ( when child is drafting) DATE LEAVE A LINE WALT……………………….. Pink or green dot = child self assesses at end of task underneath WALT using a pink or green dot Teacher highlights WALT in pink if achieved or green if not A GREY Dot = not sure if achieved/partially achieved Alternatively teachers provide WALT labels for the children which are stuck at top ( sometimes bottom) of page Y1- short date only Y2 and KS2- short date maths /long date literacy KS2 - Date and WALT underlined Guidelines for the marking of children’s work.

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

• We use the WALT acronym (We Are Learning To) for each lesson as the

basis of both verbal feedback and for marking work. We always mark against the WALT criteria (i.e. the Learning Objective or LO) using Tips for Success (TfS) to support. SEE MARKING SYMBOLS SHEET.

• We give children verbal feedback on their work whenever possible. We

usually do this when the children are working during the lesson although we sometimes give feedback on a particular lesson at the beginning of the next one. Verbal Feedback is evidenced with a VF stamp or hand drawn VF.

• We regularly mark pieces of work using highlighters (tickled pink) for

areas where the success criteria has been achieved and a green for an area for growth and development (green for growth). When marking in this way we highlight areas in pink which show where the child has achieved the success criteria and an area in green to show a place where they could improve their work. Our feedback comments are in pink or green ink. We then add a prompt at the end of the work to help the child to improve. These prompts can be of 3 types:

• Reminder prompt: For example: ‘Say why this happened’
• Scaffold prompt: For example: ‘What kind of monster was he? Change the

word bad and use a more scary word’.

• Example prompt: For example: ‘Choose one of these words instead of bad

– ferocious, terrifying or evil’.

• We allow time during the school week for the children to absorb any

comments written on their work. We do this to ensure that the time that

• ur teachers spend marking really has an impact on the children’s work.
• Self and peer marking/ Collaborative improvement: We encourage

children to make comments about their own work and the work of fellow pupils in relation to the success criteria generated for the

• lesson. This feedback is most often verbal feedback. Occasionally a

child self marks another’s work but this is always with oversight of the teacher.

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

• The children may use coloured pens to improve or correct their

work following teacher feedback or mini plenaries.

• All staff model the school’s handwriting policy in their written

feedback to children. All of the work that the children produce must be marked in a consistent way throughout the school so that children are very clear about our expectations of them. Children must be made aware of the purpose of each task and focus for

• marking. Our system of marking has been agreed with all staff to ensure that

quality marking and verbal and written feedback is given to children in a meaningful way for them to understand. Clear symbols have been agreed which include pictorial representations for KS1 and Early Years children (Appendix 1) Higher Attaining (HA) Children We use the following characteristics of learning to identify and evidence children who are HA.

• Uses a rich vocabulary
• Asks interesting and unusual questions
• Makes keen observations and uses their imagination to generate creative

working solutions

• Works collaboratively showing compassion and moral sensitivity

Guidelines for the assessment of children’s work. In line with the Final Report of the Commission on Assessment without Levels September 2015 Layston school endorses the following: ‘The overriding principle of good assessment is that it should be clearly tied to its intended purpose. There are three main forms of assessment: in-school formative assessment, which is used by teachers to evaluate pupils’ knowledge and understanding on a day-to-day basis and to tailor teaching accordingly; in-

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

school summative assessment, which enables schools to evaluate how much a pupil has learned at the end of a teaching period; and nationally standardised summative assessment, which is used by the Government to hold schools to

• account. Good formative assessment ranges from the probing question put to a

pupil as they think something through; quick recap questions at the opening of a lesson; scrutiny of the natural work of pupils; right through to formal tests’. (Assessment without Levels Sept 2015) There are three broad overarching forms of assessment, each with its own purposes Day-to-day in-school formative assessment, for example:

• Question and answer during class
• Marking of pupils’ work
• Observational assessment
• Regular short re-cap quizzes
• Scanning work for pupil attainment and development

In-school summative assessment, for example:

• Monthly writes
• Short end of topic or unit tests
• Reviews for pupils with SEN and disabilities including individualised

intervention outcomes and liason with outside agencies such as Speech and Language and the Specific Learning Disabilities Base and Educational psychologists. Nationally standardised summative assessment, for example:

• Phonics screening test at end of Year 1
• National Curriculum teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1

We use a range of formative and summative assessment across the school that is age and stage appropriate and meets statutory requirements. See DfE for Statutory assessment arrangements. Staff receive regular CPD to support enhanced understanding of assessment protocols. Assessment without levels has given us the opportunity to develop approaches to assessment that focus on teaching and learning and are tailored to the curriculum followed by the school. As with all policies, we engage with pupils parents and governors for their input or views. At Layston we affirm

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

• Learning involves both thought and action in context.
• Learning is a mediated activity – tools and artefacts have a crucial role.
• Learning is social and collaborative – people develop their thinking together.
• Assessment alongside learning, not as an after learning event.
• Assessment of group learning as well as that of the individual.
• ‘In vivo’ studies of situated problem solving i.e. participation in authentic

activities or projects.

• Done by the community – role for self-assessment, peer-assessment and

teacher assessment. This is shared with parents and families are given

• pportunities to hear their children and teachers talking about their own

learning achievements and areas for development.

• Achievement captured and reported through narrative accounts and audio-

visual media.

• Holistic qualitative and quantified judgements.

The purpose of in-school summative assessment is to evaluate pupils’ learning and progress at the end of a period of teaching. Assessment without levels has given Layston the opportunity to develop approaches to assessment that focus on teaching and learning and are tailored to the curriculum of the school. To this end we use:

• the Herts for Learning HfL assessment tool kit which enables us to track pupil

performance (progress and achievement). All data is entered into the assessment management system 7( AM7) we use across the school AM7.

• Headways ‘I Can’ Statement tool kits to support medium and short term

planning and individual formative assessment

• ‘Pupil passports’ as a way of supporting children making judgements about their
• wn attainment and progress in all foundation subjects.
• 2build a profile electronic learning journey system for recording practical

learning experiences

• Pupil, parent, child conferencing in the spring term.
• Boxhall profile ( for children attending our Nurture Group Little Acorns).

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

All teachers are responsible for the performance of their children, including those with SEND, in line with teaching standards. The HT and CT’s meet once a term for in depth pupil progress meetings. Assessment data is added termly to

• AM7. Children in receipt of the PPG have their progress tracked at least half

termly by the HT/SLT, but frequently more often as indicated on the individual intervention plans drawn up for all children on intervention plans. We believe that assessment should be inclusive of all abilities. It should be used diagnostically to contribute to the early and accurate identification of children and young people’s special educational needs and any requirements for support and intervention. For pupils with recognised SEN and disabilities, assessment considers meaningful ways of measuring all aspects of progress including communication, social skills, physical development, resilience and independence. The Boxhall profile is used for both formative and summative assessment for children who would benefit from the additional support offered in our Nurture group, Little Acorns. Children with SEND have their progress tracked at least half termly by the HT

• r SENCO. Where appropriate we use P scales and the associated toolkit Pivotts

to monitor performance; this is especially so where the child is following an alternative curriculum. We are also developing use of the Wellcome speech and language screening in Early Years and through our SENCo at KS1. We are part of a RIB valley cluster group and undertake interschool cross phase moderation on a termly basis, in addition to statutory external

• moderation. We also moderate with our principle feeder middle school

Edwinstree and share CPD with them. This ensures robust moderation practice. The Mastery curriculum and Mastery in assessment. In the new national Curriculum ‘mastery learning’ is a specific approach in which learning is broken down into discrete units and presented in logical order. Pupils are required to demonstrate mastery of the learning from each unit before being allowed to move on to the next, with the assumption that the vast majority of pupils will achieve this level of mastery if they are appropriately

• supported. Some may take longer and need more help, but all will get there in

the end. At Layston assessment is built into this process. Following high-quality instruction, pupils undertake formative assessment that shows what they have learned well and what they still need to work on, and identifies specific and frequently personalised activities to help them do this. After undertaking such

Layston School Assessment Presentation and Marking Policy Nov 16

activities (or alternative enrichment or extension activities for those who have already achieved mastery), pupils may retake a parallel assessment. As the new national curriculum is premised on this kind of understanding of mastery, at Layston we presume the vast majority of children will aspire to and every teacher should promote mastery within the curriculum. In so doing we aim to foster a ‘can do’ attitude towards learning ( a growth mindset). Mastery is about deep, secure learning for all, with extension of able students (more things

• n the same topic) rather than acceleration (rapidly moving on to new content).

For example in mathematics lessons, teachers might assess mastery through formative questions that focus on the different aspects of the concept being

• assessed. The questions can be used to uncover a pupil’s reasoning behind the

answers, enabling the exploration of the concept in greater depth so identifying and addressing any misconceptions. Other reflective learning strategies include: 10 word plenaries Class Mindmaps Learning partner talk Use of smiley faces and traffic lights Jotting down 1 thing learnt at end of session Answering a reflective question- either verbal or scribed and written on post- it note Concept cartoon